Finance Director lays out budgetary picture of city

Ridgecrest’s new finance director briefed the city council on some of the changes in procedures she was making to the city budget at the Wednesday council.

By Jack Barnwelljbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

By Jack Barnwelljbarnwell@ridgecrestca.comRidgecrest’s new finance director briefed the city council on some of the changes in procedures she was making to the city budget at the Wednesday council.Rachelle McQuiston, the new finance director, provided an overall snapshot of the city’s expenditures from a few of the city’s departments and budget categories for the 2013 fiscal year, including legal counsel, the police department and finance departments.The report is a procedure Ridgecrest Mayor Dan Clark has asked for on a regular basis at council meetings in an effort to give the council and public a sense of where the city sits financially.The brief was a last-minute item added to the council agenda during the closed session portion of the meeting.McQuiston pointed out her data was based on her own analysis in the two weeks she had been on the job, and had yet to speak with department heads.The reports break down budget unit expenditures (like financial administration) into three overall categories: salaries and benefits, services and supplies, and internal service funds. An overall total highlighted in green at the bottom.Those three categories are broken down further into segments.Expenditures for finance administration salaries and benefits, for example, list regular salaries, sick leave, injury leave, overtime, holiday overtime and medical insurance in addition to other categories.McQuiston indicated the projection numbers are straight-lined for the most part to yield more workable numbers.Based on information as of Jan. 31 and projections for March 6, McQuiston indicated the finance administration would have expended $291,859 on salaries and benefits from a budgeted $447,890, and would be on track to spend only $376,901 by the end of FY 2013. Services and supplies and ISFs would end with savings as well, based on projections as of March 6.“If trending the way we are now, we should be to the good in the financial department by $119,000,” McQuiston said.Vice Mayor Chip Holloway inquired about the word “trending” McQuiston utilized.“One frustration we’ve had over the years as council members is as we’ve gotten quarterly reports, it was literally a snapshot,” Holloway said. “So you’ve taken into account what this snapshot will look like throughout the year?”McQuiston confirmed that, but indicated that they were only a general overview based on two weeks on a the job.“I’m sure I can fine-tune them better,” she told the council.Mayor Pro Tem Jason Patin asked that the information be available in the future to both the public and the council prior to the meeting, but understood the short notice of the report.McQuiston indicated that the finance administration budget unit would change once she included her salary in the data.“Once I become more comfortable with the cost-accounting system, I will be able to add issues like that,” she said.Mayor Clark asked if the trending projections were strong enough that the council could anticipate a savings or deficit months ahead of what might be expected.“I can tell you that based on the trending now, everyone is underspending at this point,” she said. “Having said that, I don’t know everything that is out there that could affect those numbers.”McQuiston said she would need to meet with the department heads and community and discuss what else factored into the equation.In wrapping up her report, McQuiston pointed out it was only a first glance and would be improved upon with time.McQuiston confirmed Thursday over the phone that her method was still being worked out.“It is a broad brushed and is not fine-tuned yet,” she reiterated.She said the initial expenditure reports included overall data, matched it closely over five years and generated as accurate a plan as she could.“What I want to do is go over all of our different financial units and then I will sit down with the department heads,” McQuiston said.